


Instantaneous

by idrilhadhafang



Series: Fragile Things AUs [3]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, First Order Poe Dameron, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren, TIE Pilot Poe Dameron, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-06-16 02:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15426996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Poe Dameron is a TIE pilot, raised in the First Order for the majority of his life. When Kylo Ren meets him, he can’t deny an instant fascination — and the later desire for the pilot that unfolds.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Based on a manip I did on Tumblr (here: https://brokenedgeben.tumblr.com/post/175874097486/for-the-graphics-meme-for-the-prompt-parallel) and an idea that I’ve had for quite some time. That being First Order Poe where he and Kylo haven’t met before.

It wasn’t often that General Hux visited the TIE pilots, he’d told Kylo Ren, but it was all part of the tour. The General, apparently, wanted to be thorough in terms of making sure that Ren knew the  _Finalizer._ Even walking through it, the newly christened Kylo Ren could see that it was indeed a big ship. Incredibly so, actually. Staffed with numerous people doing their jobs at the terminals, and at one end of it, the TIE pilots in their uniforms. 

They weren’t wearing their helmets at that moment. Kylo could only assume that they were off-duty, just for this strange tour of the ship. One caught his eye — he was relatively short (of course, it seemed everyone was shorter than Kylo Ren), with a striking appearance. Not just handsome, but striking. Black curly hair, brown eyes that seemed terribly expressive. Almost sculpted features. 

General Hux seemed to sense Kylo’s interest without being a telepath, because he said, “This is Poe Dameron. He commands our TIE pilots.”

”I see.” Kylo said. 

Poe Dameron brushed black hair out of his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Ren.” Even his voice, Kylo reflected, was beautiful. Almost musical. 

“And you.”

It was later, when Kylo was finally able to retire to his chambers that he allowed the full extent of what happened to crash down on him. He, for all intents and purposes, had no place to go now. After Luke — he refused to call that creature his uncle now — had effectively thought of killing him...

He had destroyed the Academy save for a few students and left. It wasn’t like he could find another place to go. It seemed nigh impossible. 

And then there was Poe Dameron. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but have a feeling that Dameron was special. Extraordinary even.  Was it the Force guiding him, as it usually did, or was it...

Kylo didn’t know. 

He only knew that things were going to get more interesting from here. 


	2. First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe, Kylo and company head to Ossus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The first mission that they had was going to Ossus, and that was in order to find a rogue Jedi that had been off the planet when Kylo Ren (Ben Solo at the time) had killed Luke’s students. Poe and his pilots had been assigned to the mission, as part of, as Snoke had put it, razing the planet (though he had used the term “disgusting planet”) until there was nothing left but a wasteland. 

Now, they were preparing in the hangar, and Kylo could hear the thoughts of the other pilots. Who is this man? Why does he wear the mask? Just to name two. 

In a way, Kylo took comfort in the mask. It hid his face from the galaxy, which was necessary. There was nothing left of Ben Solo, after all. Skywalker, that festering sore of depravity, had good as murdered him. In a way, Skywalker had done Kylo a favor, because at least he now knew where he belonged. 

Not with the Jedi. With the First Order. Restoring a new sort of order to the galaxy. Things the Republic could never do. 

Without the mask, all he felt was naked. So he was grateful for the mask in that moment. It suited him, and that was what mattered. 

Even outlining what exactly they were doing on this mission, Kylo already felt confident. This, in the end, was what he was made for. 

***

The moment they came out of hyperspace was the moment that Poe could see Ossus from up above, and truth be told, he doubted he was confident in destroying a beautiful planet such as this. Then again, he supposed, they could mostly find the Jedi, kill or capture them, and get out of there as quickly as possible. 

That was it. Poe hoped. 

They flew in on the planet of Ossus, and Poe was still amazed at how the TIE fighters moved. The sheer grace in them, the sheer scope. It was one of his few joys in the First Order, besides his droid BB-8; flying had a sort of poetry of its own. 

Poe wasn’t the type to raze towns. Instead, he was the sort to only shoot at people shooting at them. Maybe Snoke had given his orders. But Poe wasn’t about to hurt or kill an innocent. 

Kylo, from below, had knocked the Jedi out and was bringing her on to his personal shuttle. Now they could leave. 

Thank the stars. Just because Poe was twenty-two now didn’t mean it got easier, after all. 

***

“About your...performance on the mission...”

Poe stood with Kylo outside the Jedi’s holding cell. Anda Mirres, her name was. Apparently. 

“What about it?” Poe said. 

“You didn’t fire on the planet,” Kylo said. “Instead, you fired at those only shooting at you.”

”I don’t kill civilians easily,” Poe said. 

”You are too full of compassion.” Kylo said. “It may yet be your downfall.”

”Knowing here, probably.” Poe sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “The First Order tends to believe that you’re either with or against them. There’s not much room for being completely innocent.”

Kylo paused. “Indeed?”

”Yeah. But it’s not like the Resistance is any better.” Poe scoffed. “Their leader’s a narcissist and a glory-hound, and the rest are just riding the Rebellion’s coattails. They don’t even have anything to resist; it’s not like we’re ruling the galaxy. And even then, we could do a better job than the Republic.”

”Amazing,” Kylo said wryly. “The bar is that low.”

Poe tilted his head. “Did you just make a joke?”

”I told the truth.”

”You made a joke.” Poe looked at him, surprised. 

Kylo sighed. It sounded like a faint huff through the mask. “Well, honestly, Commander, the Republic is such a sorry excuse for a government that it needs a replacement.”

Poe smiled. “Even a government run by porgs?”

Kylo coughed; it sounded like the Knight was trying not to laugh. “I can assume.”

Poe smiled. Right now, he liked Kylo, liked his wry sense of humor and his dedication to the First Order. He’d been interested in the man before, but now...

Now he could get used to him. 

He could like him. 

***

Even as Kylo walked away, he had to admit that he hadn’t expected Poe Dameron to captivate him this quickly. To actually make him come close to laughing...that was something he hadn’t expected. So not only was Poe a beautiful man, but he was also witty and fundamentally kind. Too kind for his own good, of course, but still a good soldier.

Was he effectively becoming fascinated with Poe Dameron? It was possible. And even then,  it was relatively surface-deep. It couldn’t develop into something more. 

It was something that could never be. 

Kylo didn’t know if he was going down a dangerous road or not. He just knew that his odd friendship with Poe Dameron could be very interesting. 


	3. Masks and their Symbolism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe learns about the meaning of a mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Sorry for updating so late!

 ”Why do you wear that mask anyway?” Poe said. 

They were in Kylo’s quarters, as was their wont (some people talked, but that was what people did nowadays). Poe couldn’t help but give Vader’s helmet a wide berth — assuming that was Vader’s helmet — there was something about that thing where it seemed like an unwanted third wheel. Just staring at them. If Vader were alive, Poe wondered what exactly he’d think of a TIE pilot and a Knight of Ren sharing a conversation together. And why was Kylo particularly interested in him? He was nothing really out of the ordinary. Hux, Poe supposed he could understand, but —

“Captain Dameron, the very idea of spending time with that...slimy creature General Hux is repugnant.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” Poe said. A beat. “Have you been reading my mind again?”

”It’s hardly reading if you broadcast loudly, Captain. You’re distractingly obvious.”

”So...how long have you read minds?”

Kylo paused. Then, “Since as long as I can remember."

”That long?” Poe raised his eyebrows. 

Kylo tilted his head. It was almost...curiously adorable, Poe thought, almost like a kath hound. He didn’t think that “adorable” and “Knight of Ren” went together, but here it was. “Does it seem curious to you?”

”You must have been incredibly gifted.”

”Indeed?” Kylo seemed to pause, like he’d never heard that word, truly, before. Poe couldn’t help but wonder what kind of environment Kylo had grown up in. Had he been raised in the First Order all his life, or was he new here? Poe definitely hadn’t seen him prior to this but then again, the Knights of Ren were a secretive bunch. 

Poe said, “So have you been in the First Order before?”

”I was a recent addition,” Kylo said. 

“So...you haven’t been around here before.” Poe said. 

“Before this...no.”

Poe nodded. “And the other Knights?”

”They’re from...varying backgrounds.” A beat. “Does it really matter, Captain? I am here, now. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”

”I guess not.” It didn’t take a Force Sensitive to tell that there was something guarded about what Kylo said, though. Still, some doors were meant to be locked. 

Still, he would do what he could just to break down Kylo’s walls. Just to get to know the Knight better. It was something that one wouldn’t have thought feasible, befriending a Master of the Knights of Ren. But Poe was the sort who put the word “feasible” to the test. 

“Tell me about yourself,” Kylo said. 

“Well,” Poe said, “I can’t say I’m that special.” He sighed. “I’ve been in the First Order since I was a kid. Just wasn’t...taken like the stormtroopers.”

A pause. “Indeed.”

Poe supposed the less he thought about that, the better. He’d never forgiven the Republic because his father hadn’t, and that just seemed like the most logical thing to do. 

“Why do you wear the mask anyway?” he said. It was as close to let’s-change-the-subject as he could muster. 

“Why are you complaining?”

”Not complaining.” Poe shrugged. “Some of the people in my squad...well, they’ve been making up stories about what you look like behind the mask. One of them said you had three heads, so...I don’t think they’re going for what’s plausible.”

Kylo made a sound like he was stifling laughter. “That’s absurd.”

”Do you ever...not wear it? Like, do you sleep with it?”

”I remove it occasionally,” Ren said. “The Supreme Leader sees the masks more as symbols than anything else. We wear the masks because we choose to, not because we need to.”

”So it’s all aesthetic.”

”Yes,” Ren said. 

That was at least interesting. Poe couldn’t say that he had heard that reason before. 

Even long after he had left, he couldn’t help but want to know more about Ren. Including the face beneath the mask. He supposed that some things were off-limits for a reason. And yet...

Poe didn’t think he’d become so interested, so fascinated, with Kylo Ren. But it seemed that things always turned out very, very interestingly. 


End file.
